Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Job Market

Well, the job market is just terrible right now in publishing, and though I am still employed, I seek more employment. Until that happens, does anyone mind if I put up some banner ads? I'm not trying to become an internet millionaire here, but I'd like to pay the electricity bill.

Or if you want to employ The Rejector for your publishing-related purposes, you probably grasp from this blog that I have some sense of the industry and experience in it, can do some editing (I'm better at other people's work than my own words), and have an MFA in Fiction. Email me. I will not grant interviews that involve the words "abandoned" or "alley."

It is your blog, so you can do pretty much anything you like (so long as it is within Blogger's terms).

Ads do not really turn me off (mostly because I ignore them). Even paid for post advertisements don't bug me - most are really poorly written and it is painfully obvious that the average blogger has no skill as a writing copy.

Although, you may find that it doesn't actually generate that much revenue.

If you're a good writer, and have a knack for storytelling, why don't you write short stories for magazines and web sites? An ambitious talent can make a nice living these days as a full-time, professional writer of fiction.

Not. Magazine fiction is dead. Web fiction is a joke. The short story, as a form of popular culture, is dead.

The senior editor at a small publisher I work with is looking for people to join the affiliate program, which means you will receive 10 per cent of all books sold on your site. It's a good publisher, with good distribution and good sales. I'd like to e-mail you about it with details, to see if you're interested, but I can't find an e-mail address on the blog.

I read your blog for the great content and I doubt that ads will change that content. If a few ads will help you pay a few bills, I'd be more than glad to even click on some of the ads as a way to pay you back for all the value you've already given us.

You have my permission with this caveat: Would you share with us how much revenue your ads generate? Not because I want to be in your business but because it would be interesting to find out if a blog can actually make any money at it. We assume the big political blogs earn something though they never tell. What about a more specialized one, like this? Let us know.

Banner ads or the text-type Google ads aren't really an issue. Just be aware that since publishing is the theme of this site, you'll get a lot of "publish your book with us!" vanity press ads.

Affiliate programs are another possible revenue source. Amazon, for example, would be fitting for this site, and you can choose whatever books you want to display. Even Jones Soda has an affiliate program these days.

Rejecter--I have Adsense ads on my personal site. When you first put them up they will be the public service ads, b/c it takes a few days for it to soak up the content (yes, that's a technical term) on your site to provide context for the targeted ads. I imagine, as someone else pointed out, that you'll see some vanity publishing ads and book doctor services...maybe even term paper writing site ads.

Dear Rejecter:Is your publishing house aware that you are selling your services outside of work? While I'm sure what you're offering is high-quality, my gentle suggestion is that you check with your senior editor first, before you find a conflict of interest shadowing your career.